schumy cries....

[PoweredByHonda]

I was just watching a highlight clip of the 2000 season... yes... some real racing... the championship actually came down to the final race!
Anyways, there was this brief clip of Michael crying at the post race press conference with Mika comforting him.
Does anyone know what race that was? Why was he crying?
A video clip or sound byte of the Press Conference would be really good.

Thanx

[Sodemo]

That was TGF's "attempt" at looking human. In the week before that race there were a lot of stories in the press stating "is he human" etc, and "he's like a robot" etc, you get the idea. Cynics may say it was an attempt to look vulnerable, I personally don't know what to think.

[danieljboys]

I could be wrong but if I remember right it could be Monza, with Schui talking about the circuit marshall that was killed during the race.

[Red]

It was at Monza. That race when the marshall was killed. He busted into tears when asked what he thinks of equalling Senna's wins record. I believe that I have a mpeg somewhere.

[R]

Monza 2000 was TGF's first win for six races, and it finally brought him level with Ayrton Senna on 41 victories. I remember TGF drinking a lot of champagne on the podium, and I thought: "Well, after drinking that much, is he going to make any sense in the press conference?"

I think they were told about the marshal's death in the few minutes that passes between the podium and the press conference. And when asked by the interviewer what equalling Senna's number of wins meant to him, TGF simply answered "it means very much to me", and then broke down in tears. So I think it was a combination of an excessive amount of champagne on the podium, the news on the death of the marshal, and equalling Senna's number of wins which led to the tears. And the name "Senna" was the trigger - I know this because TGF said so himself in subsequent interviews about why he cried. And no, Monster, it was no "attempt" - his tears and emotions were very real, and personally my respect for the man grew that day.

One other thing I noticed about that press conference was that Mika actually was the one who comforted Michael the most, while his brother Ralf mostly looked stunned.

[Valve Bounce]

Yes!! Mika took over and told the interviewer to ask somebody else, meaning Ralf, while he comforted SchM. Mika was a really great champion, and knew how to behave when it affected someone else. He was my favourite driver.

Valve

[f1manoz]

I believe the emotion showed on that day in 2000 to be completely real. He had equalled the record of his hero, he had obviously been told the death of a marshal, and he had finally won after 6 straight races of bad luck. It was just the culmination of a period of an exceeding high with a stomach-crunching low.

The tears were all real.

And it was fantastic to see Mika try to comfort TGF, although I was watching thinking all 3 would burst into tears!!!

[MaxxUK]

I've not been hanging around here too long and obviously missed something but what does TGF stand for ?

Maxx

[ghinzani]

Some cynical people might say it was interesting to see the guilt at having an illegal Benetton in 94, that so perplexed Senna at Aida when he was trackside, overwhelm the 5 times champ. Perhaps he thinks deep down that the fact that his car was illegal thru 94 was a contributory factor in makeing Senna overstretch himself that day at Imola? or maybe he just feels guilty at having cheated arguably the greatest driver ever, and the fact that he had matched Sennas prematurely and illegally ended total of wins was too much?

[Wrex]

Originally posted by MaxxUK
I've not been hanging around here too long and obviously missed something but what does TGF stand for ?

Maxx

Local lingo for Michael Schumacher "That German Fellow" It has to be the most uestion asked in the forum.

OT, I agree with those above. No publicity stunt, just a man allowing emotion to get the better of him. Both Michaels & Mika's stock went up for me that day.

[dragon x]

I think most of U guys are not fair in your opinions. I thought that only a couple of Brazilian "fans" thought that Schumacher was guilty of Senna's death. U see, he was chasing him hard that race and that's why Senna crashed. Whatever the reason of the crash it wasn't Michael's fault. and when he shows some emotion after Monza 2000 they call him a fraud etc. If he had a different, more calm, reaction they would have said - well, he doesn't show any respect to the great champion.

[Red]

Originally posted by dragon x
I think most of U guys are not fair in your opinions. I thought that only a couple of Brazilian "fans" thought that Schumacher was guilty of Senna's death. U see, he was chasing him hard that race and that's why Senna crashed. Whatever the reason of the crash it wasn't Michael's fault. and when he shows some emotion after Monza 2000 they call him a fraud etc. If he had a different, more calm, reaction they would have said - well, he doesn't show any respect to the great champion.

Welcome to 1010ths Dragon X!

[dragon x]

Originally posted by Red
Welcome to 1010ths Dragon X!

Thanx Red, my sweet-neighbour-of-mine . It's an honour for a rookie to get a message from a forum veteran

[Red]

Quite indeed we're neighbours!


As for the veteran status... c'mon! More than 500 posts does not guarantee 500 of quality posts! Besides, with a 35.34 posts per day rate ()that can be achieved in a matter of days....

[Valve Bounce]

Well, I thought all this talk about guilt over Senna's death is BS. How can anyone feel guilty when another driver makes a mistake and crashes? This is just pure nonsense. It has been suggested that Senna's tyres were still cold and he went at it too hard; and it was a freak accident that he was killed.
I think that there is an overwhelming sense of crowd support from the Tifosi at Monza when Ferrari wins, and SchM was overwhelmed by the occasion of his win and the podium celebrations. Then he was informed of the marshal's death when leaving the podium - better before than during the prress confernce for sure. The emotions just overwhelmed him at the press conference, that's all. Why is it necessary to make a big humbug story about guilt over Senna's death?
I can tell you that even when you learn of the death of somebody close, the emotions come when they come, and there is nothing you can do about it.

[DavidStHubbins]

Dont forget that Senna died in front of Michael. Micheal was right behind him when he speared off and died. I dont think some of you understand what it must have been like to have been right behind your hero and see him die. That would stay with me for the rest of my life. Anyone who says he was pretending to cry is beyond an idiot.

[Red]

Well, the guilt talk is not quite BS, but not in ghinzani's interpretation . I believe that Michael considered that should he had not pushed Ayrton perhaps Senna's accident could be avoided. This is not correct, his steering column would've fail eventually and certainly he was supposed to race Senna hard, but Ayrton WAS his idol. That thought is not easy an burden to carry; even if Michael were a "robot". That interviewer that posed the question certainly is an idiot.

[ASCII Man]

The steering column failed because in a leaked report the steering column was modified on Senna's request, but the job had been done extremely poorly and only badly welded together... i read it somewhere on www.motorsport.com but i'm not sure

[ASCII Man]

Here we go...

It has been reported in todays (10th December 1995) News of the World that the report into the crash of Ayrton Senna has been leaked.

Professor Enrico Lorenzini said that the "steering was not working properly". However, he goes on to state that he is certain that the steering column broke before the crash, and was due to the column being "badly welded together".

"The rod joining the steering wheel to the wheels was virtually sliced in half. It had been badly welded together about a third of the way down and couldn't stand the strain of the race. We discovered scratches on the crack in the rod. It seemed like the job had been done in a hurry, but I can't say how long before the race. Someone had tried to smooth over the join following the welding. I have never seen anything like it".

It is reported that the column was reduced in size because Senna wanted a clearer view of the instrument panel. To carry this out, according to Lorenzini's report, the column was split into two sections - both of different diameters - and welded together. "The two parts were of different diameters and I have heard that the job was done so that the steering whell could be lowered for comfort. But this is the first time I have ever seen such a job. Generally, these simple steel rods - around 70cm long - are always in one piece. This one had been welded together at the 23cm mark. The thinner part was next to the steering wheel, and stayed stuck to the steering wheel on the floor as you see it after the crash. The thicker part was below and the difference in diameter was made up by a joint welded onto a hollow tube. This is where the break happened. I believe that the rod was faulty, probably cracked, even during the warm-up. And moments before the crash only a tiny piece was left connected and therefore the car didn't respond in the bend".

On the subject of video evidence, Lorenzini was similarly forthright "This is the tragic part. Here you can see how Senna tried to avoid the crash. He had incredible reactions and was physically far superior..... He wrenched the wheel and the car kept going straight on. This was the point where only a tiny piece of metal was connected to the rod. Then he hit the brakes, but he was already flying above the ground so he just kept going. This is the dip in the road. But that, even though it didn't help, was not the cause of the accident... The fact is that the metal couldn't stand the strain of the race".

Williams' lawyer, Roberto Causo, has said that "Our data shows the steering was working until the moment of impact". The News of the World also contacted Frank Williams, and put the following questions to him:

Q: Was any welding carried out on the steering rod before the race? FW: No comment

Q: Have you seen a copy of the crash report? FW: No.

Q: Did you know that your chief designer (Adrian Newey) admitted altering the car's steering rod? FW: No comment.

[PoweredByHonda]

Well thanx guys for the info.
The bit about the steering column is freaky, I've always wondered why Senna with his god like car control would just plow right to the wall.
I heard somewhere that the onboard video showed him wrenching that steering wheel as hard as he could right before the crash......Guess we'll never know.